William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born on 26th April 1564, in Stratford. He was widely regarded as English poet, playwright and actor. He still remains the noble writer in the English language and best writer of tragedies. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His contributions to literature are in the form of plays, sonnets, short poems, long narrative poems, tragedy verses and much more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Childhood

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avong. He was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover, and Mary Arden.

Education

Most biographers believe that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School, in 1553, a free school; although no attendance records for the period survive. During Elizabeth era, grammar schools varied in quality but had similar school curricula.

Career

No records suggest exactly when he started writing, but historians connect most of his work written at London Stage, in 1592, for plays and performances. In 1599, he helped establishing a theater on the south bank of River Thames named “Globe”. Most of his early plays and poems were performed here.

‘Richard III’ and the three parts of ‘Henry VI’ are the first recorded works of Shakespeare written in the early 1590s. This period saw two of his greatest works ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the famous romantic tragedy and ‘Julius Caesar’. In the early 17th Century, he again came into limelight for a number of tragedies among which ‘Hamlet’ is still discussed more than any other work of Shakespeare. ‘Othello’, ‘King Lear’ and ‘Macbeth’ were other noted work of his that depicts the depth of tragedy writing.

At the End

William Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, he was buried in the chancel of the Holy Trinity Church two days after his death. During 1623, a funerary monument was erected in his memory on the north wall, with a half-effigy of him in the act of writing.